Chapter 191
Chapter 191
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: Jack Daniel's Tip-Off
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“Section Chief. Here are the case records.”
Records transferred from Anti-Corruption Division 3 at the Central District Prosecutors' Office.
The shabby cover hinted at a high-difficulty case with numerous accomplices and connections, not easily unraveled.
Primary suspect: Daniel Seo.
It was Jack Daniel's real name.
Typically, a section chief-level prosecutor doesn't handle cases single-handedly.
Deputy section chiefs and above—put simply, 'frontline section chiefs and Supreme Prosecutors' Office deputy directors'—coordinate case assignments in their offices and serve as the top overseers for major incidents.
Yet Park Min-seong, the section chief, had readily nodded to Kang Hyun's suggestion and even stepped up himself to take the case directly from Kim Jeong-min.
This was a move that would shock not just Namyangju, but all four major Seoul prosecutors' offices.
But once the records landed directly on his desk, he quietly pushed the case aside and closed his eyes for a moment.
“Whew... Guilt? None of that. This is the right thing.”
Words to himself, it seemed. Then he immediately picked up the receiver.
Ring ring.
-Yes, Section Chief Park Min-seong. This is the annex office.
“Jack Daniel marijuana possession drug case. Prepare to halt the investigation.”
-Pardon? Halt the investigation? Reason...
“Suspect location unknown.”
Suspect location unknown leading to investigation halt.
In plain terms, with Jack Daniel vanished, the probe couldn't proceed, so all investigations related to this case would be suspended and shelved at the office until reopened.
The voice of Investigator Kim on the other end sounded a bit flustered.
-Um, we haven't received any notice from the administrative office that Mr. Jack Daniel's location is unknown. No warrant's out either. Plus, I understand the 323-room defamation case is proceeding normally.
If location unknown had been confirmed by investigators, an appropriate wanted notice would have gone out, and the annex office wouldn't be unaware.
But Park Min-seong replied casually, as if it were obvious.
“Internal intel. Soon, Jack Daniel will be location unknown, and the case won't proceed normally.”
His pointed, meaningful words were met with silence on the other end, as if they were pondering.
Then a businesslike voice returned.
-...We'll prepare the suspension of prosecution.
“Got it.”
Click.
He'd pulled the celebrity case for Kang Hyun to handle. Even taking on another celeb's drug case himself.
But Park Min-seong had other plans.
And what was to come.
In sync with accepting the case and suspending prosecution, Jack Daniel—who'd been active without issue—would vanish without a trace.
Ultimately, the bold case Kang Hyun had kicked off would languish indefinitely, marring his reputation as it got shipped back to Central, while separately, scandal rumors would proliferate wildly.
“Hardships and trials... he's gotta face them.”
He muttered softly, as if easing a twinge of guilt.
Then, as if struck by a thought, he swiveled his chair toward the window, as he'd taken to doing lately, and stared endlessly outside.
Kang Hyun, oblivious to all this.
It was right after today's marathon briefing ended, as he stepped into the prosecutors' office.
Bang!
“Prosecutor!”
Choi Tae-ri, who'd rushed to find him urgently, called out, leaving Kang Hyun no time to catch his breath as he turned to her.
“Jack Daniel's agency refused summons again.”
It was a big deal. Crucial witness and victim Jack Daniel kept dodging appearances.
“…What now?”
Kang Hyun closed his eyes, sinking into thought for a moment.
Jack Daniel.
The idol singer and rapper guy.
The one indirectly tormenting Yoon Haneul through vicious rumors linking them.
Frankly, even the Kang Hyun-Yoon Haneul dating rumor was forgivable from the public's view.
Old photos of them together circulated online and off, and they did have a friendship.
Some comments even supported them as a cute match.
The Jack Daniel dating rumor alone wouldn't quite reach defamation levels.
'We've already had the parties confirm it's false...'
Kang Hyun could sort that out.
The real core of this defamation case went beyond Yoon Haneul's alleged fling with 'Jack Daniel' to false reports of a drug party.
Yoon Haneul's agency insisted no such thing happened, that they barely knew him, but the rumors spread relentlessly.
The backstory was too sordid, too sensational.
-Yoon Haneul and Jack Daniel, blackout drunk at the party, supposedly took turns spiking drinks with five kinds of drugs in the nude. Rumors they're saying they spent the night together are swirling online...
Follow-up articles even named the drugs: marijuana, synthetic cannabis, philopon, ecstasy, cocaine—in a full, sequential lineup.
'No way.'
Kang Hyun's conviction wasn't mere hunch. It stemmed from the unique element of 'drugs' in the rumor.
Ordinary folks rarely jump straight to marijuana or narcotics without passing through 'gateway drugs' like smokes or booze.
It's that innate aversion. Someone drug-naive hitting dealer doses would puke and freak out.
Even if Yoon Haneul, by some wild chance, attended a party and faced temptation, would she—who barely touches cigs or booze—lead an all-night drug binge? It defied common sense.
So the key to cracking the case: summon Jack Daniel, confirm the facts, have him state on record that the rumors were false.
But that wasn't going smoothly.
Frustrated, Seong Tae-o cut into Kang Hyun's thoughts with an irritated tone.
“If this goes wrong, investigation halts, and worst case, records go back to Central. Isn't he a key witness?!”
Calming Seong Tae-o and Choi Tae-ri, Kang Hyun replied steadily.
“…We'll proceed without Jack Daniel for now. Yoon Haneul's agency's prep materials are surprisingly detailed, enough to ID the defamation suspects precisely, so let's get what we can straight from the perps.”
“Possible?”
“If the suspects cooperate, we might not even need Jack Daniel's statement. Are they ready?”
“…Yes.”
As declared in the morning briefing: the first spreader of the Yoon Haneul scandal, the 'Despatch' reporter.
The guy was already waiting in the interrogation room for Kang Hyun.
“Good.”
Kang Hyun spoke sharply, straightening his clothes.
Snap.
He donned his jacket and headed to the 'video-recorded interrogation room.'
The hallway darkened with each step, soon reaching a dim space lit faintly by cold bulbs hovering in the gloom.
Kang Hyun tamped down the rising anger and irritation.
Now to face the rumor-monger's mug.
What kind of monster? Some obsessive psycho beyond gauging?
Bang!
“Huh?”
“Ah, hello! Prosecutor. I'm Jeong Man-su from Despatch.”
But no.
Not some obsession-crazed man or lunatic.
Just an ordinary-looking guy. Average height, not ugly face.
Looked young, even gave off a kind vibe.
“Ah... Jeong Man-su? You're... Despatch's first reporter on it. Right?”
“Yes... I had no idea my suspicion piece would get me sued for spreading false info... I want to explain everything in detail.”
This meek posture. It was disarming.
Guys denying it, glaring murderously with threats, playing dumb and stonewalling.
Kang Hyun had seen countless suspect types, but this was way off.
He sensed it: the classic look of the 'victim.'
'No way.'
Instantly, Kang Hyun's mind raced.
He slammed the stack of docs he'd brought for a piss-match onto the table, then sank into pensive, somewhat deflated expression.
Bad vibes.
'What if.'
Rustle.
He shoved the papers aside and sat straight. The guy bowed his head again.
'What if this guy's the one who got a false tip?'
Tip-off.
Per the complaint, this 'Jeong Man-su' reporter was indeed Yoon Haneul's stalker.
The type tailing her every move, snapping pics, rabid to publish.
Blacklisted for sure, so her agency would've quickly pinned him as first spreader—Kang Hyun too had assumed it was this fanatic finally peddling fake dirt.
But if he'd received a tip instead? Changes everything.
The reporter's sloppy fact-check made him culpable, but the tipster? Worth killing.
Kang Hyun went straight for confirmation.
“By any chance. Did you get a tip?”
“Yes.”
“From who?”
“Daniel.”
“Hah... Jack Daniel?”
“Yes. Directly.”
“Where's Jack Daniel?”
“Sorry... No idea. I only published because I was worried about our Yoon Haneul...”
A few words.
No need to grill the reporter more. Kang Hyun slammed the desk and stormed out.
'The bastard was Jack Daniel.'
Stunned by Kang Hyun's quicker-than-expected exit, Seong Tae-o and Choi Tae-ri followed.
“Prosecutor!”
“Prosecutor?”
“Wrong tree. This is a false info defamation case against Yoon Haneul via Jack Daniel's media tip-off.”
“Huh?”
“What's that mean, Prosecutor? Jack Daniel's a rumor victim too in this... Self-staged?!”
The moment the target crystallized, aimed true—the rage exploded beyond imagining.
“Freeze everything else. Focus on summoning Jack Daniel. Key witness with perp potential. Could flip mid-interrogation.”
“Gasp.”
“For real?”
“Likely him dragging Yoon Haneul down to muddy his own case.”
As Kang Hyun spoke rapidly while striding the hall, Seong Tae-o and Choi Tae-ri grasped the gravity, yelping before diving into Jack Daniel reports.
“N-No way. Just got opinion from his law firm on summons. Not agency counsel—hired a mega-firm separately.”
“Not agency counsel?”
“Yes. Oh Dae-yang.”
Kang Hyun frowned. Like that Kim Han-guk lawyer before, big firms dipping into sleaze cases? No upside, yet here they were again.
Bang!
At 323-room office, the desk opinion sat waiting. Kang Hyun ignored the dozens of dedicated lawyers, flipping it open indifferently.
A dozen or so, but irrelevant.
Rustle!
“Refusal reasons over 300 pages? They're dead serious.”
“Dead serious.”
Choi Tae-ri and Seong Tae-o murmured lowly.
Not 'postpone' attendance, but 'impossible.'
Straight refusal.
300 pages rivaled full records from a minor case start to finish. Textbook power play volume.
“Notify any lawyer on the team. Tomorrow morning. Same response, I'll drag him from the agency by the collar myself.”
“Yes, sir!”
But then quick-delivery from agency 'Ice Enter': postponement request.
“'Can't reach Jack Daniel to notify of summons date,' they say?”
“...”
Attendance refusal opinion.
Postponement request.
They're stalling.